To me, the really
amazing thing about this
is, it’s such a message of
hope that we can
control these diseases.
My thing was really to
show this lifestyle
in its glory, which is
really that it’s so good
for the human state,
if you will.

Hallo vivacious viewers,
and welcome to
Healthy Living.
This week we learn about
a fascinating new
American documentary,
“Forks Over Knives,”
which presents
scientific evidence
about the impact of diet
on health.
The film is timely,
as the United States
is currently facing
a major health crisis.
Today, more than 60%
of Americans are classified
as obese or overweight.

The average American
now carries
23 extra pounds.

Heart disease and stroke
will claim the lives
of 460,000
American women.

We're talking about
diabetes and hypertension
and bone diseases,
osteoporosis.

Almost half
of the population
is taking some form
of prescription drug.

I've got a few pills
I take for my diabetes,
cholesterol,
and high blood pressure.
I take Byetta, which is
injectable medicine.

Americans are seeking
medical care
in ever growing numbers
and the nation’s poor health
is draining the economy.

Obesity, diabetes,
heart disease,
high blood pressure
costs this country
more than US$120 billion
each year.

Is there a solution
to this crippling situation?
The answer
is a resounding “Yes.”
Many researchers
have concluded that
simply by eliminating
refined, processed
and animal-based foods,
and adopting a whole foods
plant-based diet, we can
stop and even reverse
many forms of disease.

“Forks Over Knives”
explores this proven,
simple way of using
the “fork,” or choosing
animal-free foods, over
the “knife” or “scalpel”
of medical treatment
as the most powerful way
to heal ourselves
and ensure our wellbeing.
Brian Wendel,
the vegan creator
and executive producer
of “Forks Over Knives,”
shares why he decided
to make this film.

Well, a few years ago,
I really just became
overwhelmed with
how much strong
evidence there was
that many of our
degenerative diseases
were fully preventable,
and in many cases
reversible
through diet alone.
And I was noticing
that there was only
a very small group
of people that were
taking advantage of this
and a large group
of people that weren’t.
And I didn’t understand
why the message
wasn’t getting out.
And I became
very determined to do
something about that.

The film examines
the lives and careers
of famed American
nutritional biochemist
and author
of the best-selling book
“The China Study,”
Dr. T. Colin Campbell,
and Dr. Caldwell
Esselstyn, Jr. a surgeon
at the renowned
Cleveland Clinic
in the USA,
and how each discovered
that plant-based foods are
the path to robust health.

People who were raised
in Japan, the Philippines,
Korea, China,
never had heart disease,
prostate cancer,
colon cancer,
breast cancer,
rheumatoid arthritis,
or multiple sclerosis.

Virtually the Western diet
was non-existent; they
had no animal products,
they had no dairy, no meat.

Our national authorities
are simply excluding
this concept in order to
protect the status quo.

With the Western diet,
there are going to be
half a million people
in this country this year
who will have to
have the front half
of their body divided,
their heart exposed.
Some people
would call that extreme.
And so,
it’s really quite exciting
when you are able to
take patients
who have been ravaged
by heart disease
and get them
to go plant-based.
Because we know that
every time processed oils,
dairy, meat, fish
and chicken
pass our lips, it injures
that delicate inner lining
of our blood vessels.

And we found that when
we took these patients
who are ravaged
by heart disease,
they were the walking dead,
they’d failed their first
or second stent,
they had failed their first
or second angioplasty,
some were told they
wouldn’t live out the year,
and when they just
absolutely get it,
and get it right,
what a fantastic reward
to know not only
can it stop the disease,
but they can
reverse the disease.
It’s a very powerful gift
for these patients
to recognize,
that they themselves now
have become the locus
of control for this disease
that was destroying them.

The film
“Forks Over Knives”
also follows the lives
of several chronically ill
patients who took
the advice of their doctors
and adopted the healing,
nutritious vegan diet.

I reversed the diabetes.
The diabetes
is not coming back.

Diet is
so much more important
than anybody ever thought.

It’s just people starting
to take responsibility
for their health,
and starting to eat
more plant-based foods.
It's that simple.

Well, for me, I’ve been
into whole plant foods
for almost 10 years now.
But certainly everybody
that’s worked on the film
has changed their diet,
and it was not requisite
that anybody do so.
So everybody
from the producer;
to the writer-director;
to even the attorney;
and the accountants; and
even the music composer,
just from composing
the music from his home,
changed their diet.
So it had a big impact on us.

And some of the people
that even came in
from our crew
said specifically,
“I am not changing my diet
for this film.
Just so you know.”
And I just wanted
the best people
to help me make the film.
So the fact
that they did (change)
was just unbelievable.
And every single person,
just about,
that worked on this film
did change their diet.

Through a quirk of fate
Lee Fulkerson,
the writer and director
of “Forks Over Knives,”
appears in the documentary
as one of the many
individuals profiled
who switch to a vegan diet
and reap
the innumerable benefits.

It wasn't planned
for me to be part of
"Forks Over Knives."
I was going
on a research trip
to talk to the doctors
that we were going to use
to treat some
of the patients in the film.
On my way over, I drank
these two Red Bulls.
I also had a 12-ounce Coke,
and another
half of a 12-ounce Coke.
I said, "Well, why don't you
give me a checkup?"
We decided to shoot that
just for fun.

My cholesterol was
extremely high, like 240.
I'd never been
that high before.
And more frighteningly,
I had a level of
inflammation in my veins
that said I was at risk
for a heart attack.
So that scared me,
and I decided
to go on a whole foods
plant food diet
to see if we could
reverse those conditions.

Wherever the film
has been shown,
it has enjoyed
remarkable success.

What kind of interest
have you seen in the film?

With very little marketing,
we’re playing
to packed houses
across the country,
and a lot of blogging,
a lot of social media things
all indicating
that people are really,
really interested in it.

What makes
the documentary
so convincing is its simple,
yet effective message.
To me,
the take-home message
of "Forks Over Knives"
is that people can
have control over their own
health outcomes.
At the end of the day,
information is power.
It allows people to
have a degree of control
over their own
health outcomes
that the traditional
medical system just
doesn't give people.
It gives you
a complete picture that
the diet works long-term,
it works short-term,
and you can't get better
than that.

This compelling
documentary
has left a deep impression
on viewers.

I think it obviously makes
a convincing argument
to at least give it a try,
if you’re having some of
these health problems.
And what I really like too
is just the whole
taking health into your
own hands kind of thing,
not depending on
symptom-treating drugs.
So, definitely
the proactive approach
really appealed to me.

So what did you think of
the film
“Forks Over Knives?”

I think
it’s pretty amazing.

I think it was
life-changing actually.

Do you think
it will inspire you
to change your diet?

Absolutely, absolutely, yes.

I think we changed
tonight.

(Absolutely.)
We are definitely going
to start a whole new life.

It's going to be
world changing.
It's touching on points
that still haven't yet been
touched upon, and
absolutely necessary
for everyone to see,
and change the world.

My hope is over
the next five years,
we really as a country,
we get to
a certain tipping point,
where eating plants is
looked at as absolutely
the coolest thing
on the planet.
Eating lamb chops and
prime rib and
steaks and hamburgers
will be looked at
as people driving
Hummers around today.
It’s like, come on:
what are you doing?
You are not
helping anybody.

Could you envision
the whole country
being vegan or
the world being vegan?

Absolutely, I think that
there will come a time
when we will look back
on this time that we’re
going through now
as being a Dark Age.
The idea of consuming
animal foods and
consuming processed
food just hasn’t
worked out for us.
I’m very hopeful that
we are going to head in
a direction that’s
different than where
we are at now.

We are deeply grateful
Brian Wendel,
Lee Fulkerson,
Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn,
Dr. T. Colin Campbell
and all others involved
for your production
of this outstanding film.
You are all improving
the health of
countless people through
this exceptional work
and helping
to uplift our planet.
May many, many more
people view
and be moved to embrace
the whole foods
plant-based lifestyle
advocated by your
life-changing documentary.

For more details on
“Forks Over Knives,”
please visit
www.ForksOverKnives.com

Thank you for joining us
today on Healthy Living.
May all people soon adopt
the organic vegan diet,
for optimal health
and a kinder, more
compassionate world.